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Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

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Thursday, December 10, 2009

Large lima beans, or butter beans as we refer to them in my part of the Deep South, have a lovely creamy texture, and with this mix of seasonings, are just pure comfort food.

Creamy Butter Beans

Good old-fashioned, creamy butter beans, are a southern favorite for sure! Not to be too confusing, Southerners refer to both large and small lima beans as butterbeans, although there is also butter peas to consider, a smaller pea-shaped cousin, and a pea that is actually a bean and not a pea, akin to other Southern peas, such as lady cream and zipper, and that some Southerners also call butter beans ... but not to be confused with buttered peas which is a whole 'nother thing - just to confuse the rest of the world, as we Southerners love to do.

Here, I'm referring to the larger lima beans, and that is what I call butter beans, because I call the tiny green baby lima beans, well... baby lima beans or small butter beans. I typically use Camellia brand dried beans. They have a lovely creamy texture, and with this mix of seasonings, are just pure comfort food, especially on a cold day.

Like potatoes, beans are a popular meal down south because they are inexpensive - you can read that as cheap frugal for us southerners and we'll happily agree. They are filling, and belly warming on cold days, though we'll also be happy to eat them just about any time of the year. Once you get them on the stove, they don't require a lot of tending to either. Besides that, they are just downright good!

I really love baking a huge bone-in ham because it means that you get to put away that bone and some extra ham just especially for some for beans or a soup on down the line, but don't fret. You can buy some pretty awesome ham bones by the pound from your local specialty ham stores too. Serve these beans as a main dish, or as a side dish, but generally speaking, always with a side of cast iron skillet cornbread!

For more of my favorite bean recipes, pop by my Pinterest page!

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Rinse and sort beans, place into stockpot with just enough water to cover them, plus about an inch. Bring to a boil, cover and turn off the burner. Let soak covered for one hour, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in the bottom of soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the bacon fat over medium; add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic and sauté just until tender. Add the thyme and pepper and stir; add the ham, ham bone, ham hocks or smoked turkey wings, chicken stock, 4 cups of the water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 1 hour.

Add the drained beans to the pot. Stir in the butter, parsley, and a pinch of Cajun seasoning. Continue cooking on a low simmer an additional hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until beans are tender and sauce thickens. Add additional chicken stock or water only if needed. When beans are tender, taste and adjust seasonings as desired; cover and hold on very low.

Cook's Notes: May also simply soak beans in cool water overnight. Older beans take longer to cook so if your beans have been in the pantry for awhile, you may have to cook them longer. Fresh beans cook more quickly. You can substitute bacon if you don't have any leftover ham. Just chop up as much bacon as you want - about a half pound would be good - and saute that in a pan until browned, then toss in the chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic right there in with that bacon and bacon fat and cook until tender, adding olive oil only if needed to saute the veggies. Pick up the rest of the recipe from there. For tips on ways to thicken beans, click here.

Crockpot: Rinse, drain and sort through beans. Add the unsoaked beans to a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Saute veggies and meats and add with all of the remaining ingredients except butter, parsley, Cajun seasoning and rice. Cover the beans with 5 to 7 cups of very hot water, or use a combination of water and broth if desired - you’ll need more or less depending on whether you’ve soaked your beans and whether you are using a large ham bone. You want to cover the beans by about an inch or so. Cover and cook on high for 7 to 8 hours, 10 to 12 hours on low, or until the beans are tender. Before serving, stir in butter, parsley, Cajun seasoning and salt; taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

LOL Kristin, I knew what you meant about the babies! I haven't looked at the AFM menu yet, but actually if they are dried baby lima beans then, yes, you can use this exact recipe. I actually have a pound of those in the cabinet that I'm gonna experiment with (maybe) at some point.

If they are the frozen baby lima beans, then those only need about 10 minutes or so to cook. I usually boil them, drain them and season them with just butter, salt and pepper myself.

You can saute some onion in advance, with bacon or ham or even smoked sausage pieces, then set that aside. Cook the beans in just enough water to barely cover. Drain them, season with the onion, meat and s & p. Pretty good that way too. Hope that helps!

Do you know if this would freeze well? I love making a big old pot of ham & beans, but I'm the only one in my family who'll eat them. I'm thinking of freezing individual portions for a quick lunch now and then.

I have to make these butter beans - reading the name of the recipe reminded me of my grandmother from years ago. She grew up in Virginia and this was one of her favorites. Thanks for all of your great work! Cynthia

Hi Jessica! We usually finish our beans off, but they should freeze just fine. Just put them in an airtight container or in zippered freezer bags. Should be good for at least 6 months. Hope this doesn't sound silly but don't freeze them with the rice mixed in. Although I think it would freeze okay I'm not sure if the texture on the rice would be weird frozen in the beans. I do freeze rice on it's own though so you could do that. For rice you just defrost, put a little water in the rice, seal and microwave. Freshens it right up!

Well Mary i made me some Butter Beans (aka Large Limas) and have also googled your brand. They are awesome, and I too am the only one who will eat them so i will freeze some when they cool down. BUt the flavor is awesome thank you.

Love, love, love this recipe. It has wonderful flavor and great texture. However, we always referred to these as Lima beans. Granny's on both sides and on the in-law side have always called the baby limas "butter beans". When I asked why, one granny said it was because when the young tender beans are cooked just right, they have a creamy buttery consistency without the grainy feel that the larger ones have. Granny on the in-law side used baby speckled lima beans that she grew (where can I buy those now???) and they were THE BEST butter beans ever. Btw, I'm cooking the above recipe again today :)

Yeah, as with many southern recipes it really depends on what you grew up with. I buy the large speckled butter beans in the freezer section so check there. I've tried to grow them but I just don't have enough sunny spots to grow the amount I need. Enjoy the beans!

Grew up on butter beans & ham hocks in South TX. Live in TN now & this is too far from Mason Dixie line for these hillbillies to cook them or like them. I love them they are so creamy & the texture is umm I am getting hungry. Never knew about all the spices you use. Especially the bay leaves. I will try your recipe. Thanks for sharing.

My great-grandmother who was born and raised in Virginia used to make beans like this all the time. She passed away 6 years ago at the age of 103 and lately, I've been missing her cooking. I just made these and I feel like I'm that little girl sitting at her dining room table eating a big bowl of beans with some cornbread...Thank you!

Me, not from the south: I hate lima beans! At least the tiny, frozen, green ones my mom used to give me! But I got some dried limas in my csa box this week, googled "recipes" for limas, and got this recipe. OMG: outrageously delish!!! LOVED! Took the time to stew it slowly, and it was perfecto! Thanks for sharing a little "slappin my mama!"

You gotta be nice to the "Butter Bean Family", just don't make themm too watery. If you can get your hands on "Choriso" (thats what Cubans and Latin folks use a lot, its a sausage. Don't use any immtations. I usually take the outer wrapping off and cumble it in the beans. (A little spicy) but gooooood.

Choriso is delicious! It does tend to color things a little pink but the taste is outstanding if you can get past the color. For the readers that happen upon this, there are two kinds of chorizo - one is cured (Spanish) like the smoked sausage & andouille you are used to seeing, the other is a loose raw sausage (Mexican) that is found in casings like Italian sausage.

Generally speaking, if beans haven't thickened up in the time given in the recipe, you probably just need to give it a little bit longer on the simmering time. Beans should be simmering at a low bubble and sometimes that will take longer for them to cook depending on a wide variety of reasons, even the age of the beans and how long they were sitting on the grocery store shelf or in your pantry as older beans tend to take longer to cook.

You can speed that thickening up in a number of ways though. Remove about a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of the cooked beans and mash them up. Stir them into the pot. You can also make a cornstarch slurry - add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a cup with just a splash of water to make the cornstarch liquid, then stir that into the beans, bring to a boil, boil for about 1 minute then return to a low simmer. You may also stir in some instant potatoes. Just add in 1/8 cup, let the beans bubble a bit, if not thick enough add in another 1/8 cup. Also, once beans are stored in the fridge they will thicken quite a bit, so making them a day before is another good option, though then you may have to dilute them with some liquid because they will absorb quite a lot of it overnight. I usually stir in some broth before I store beans for that very reason!

I was born and raised in south Louisiana, with a Grandmother who was a great country cook - but THESE blew even hers out of the water! I used the leftover ham and bone of a Honeybaked Ham I had for Thanksgiving, and they were to die for! Served with white rice, of course... Thanks :)

So glad y'all enjoyed them & thanks for the feedback on temp. It's so hard to judge that these days because every crockpot runs differently and many run so hot these days. The one I am using fortunately seems to run accurately and not too hot. Was that 5 hours on high? I'll be happy to make the adjustment in the recipe.

I made this a few months ago, for my Mountain Man, who swore he wouldn't like it, because he (with a wrinkled nose) doesn't like lima beans. Well, after his second bowl, he was singing a different tune. I love butter beans and these are even better than I remembered my Nana making! I'm currently making it again and my Mountain man is looking forward to it. Thank you for your tasty crafts! You've become my go-to for many popular southern dishes.

Oh my goodness Christy! That just made my day!! Now I love these beans, always have, and my hubby loves them too, but to hear that you converted your husband with my recipe, somebody who didn't think they would like lima beans, well it sure did make me smile - thanks for the uplifting comment!!

Made many batches of red beans similarly. And now I have a mass following asking me when will I make more red beans. So, wanted to try this recipe with large Lima beans, true test will be brining to my grandmother of the age 95... Wish me luck. I already know this recipe will bring back some good memories. Thank you for sharing.

Please note on the crock pot method, you really want to par-boil and soak your beans for at least an hour then drain and rinse them before you add to the crock pot. Why, believe it or not this gets the poots out. "By soaking them in this boiling hot water, between 75 to 90 percent of the indigestible compounds dissolve in the liquid, explains MayoClinic.com. Rinse the beans thoroughly and then cook them as you normally would."

I'm from a small town in southern TX. All growing up, My mom used to make this for my great grandma when she'd come to our house to visit from the nursing home (dad's side-she outlived her daughter-my grandma.. Actually she outlived ALL her children...must have been hard for her! But I digress) ...of course, with the cornbread! BUT my mom also always sat out a plate of green onions that my great grandma would eat raw with her beans and cornbread... Is that a southern thing, or just "her" thing? I always thought that was so odd!!! My mom said she could eat a whole onion like an apple...I never saw that, but it makes me kinda wonder if that was her secret to longevity or something? Anyway---I absolutely love your recipes and I'm going to try your butter beans today! I'm excited!

It's a southern thing for sure only more often it's plain raw yellow (preferably sweet Vidalia down here) or white onions, and sometimes pickled, more often than green onion but we do them all! Vidalias are very sweet - I eat them raw on a lot of things and your could practically eat them like an apple. That could have been her secret!

I do hope that you enjoyed the beans Bridget & maybe even threw a little green onion on top!! :)

Oh these creamy butter beans how I love thee, let me count thy ways,ha! These beans weren't just creamy and very tasty but also very comforting. They had a wonderful aroma while they lazily simmered away. Next time I make these I definitely want to make your skillet cornbread too! Thank you so much!

Again, I am coming to your page to re-print off the recipe. My husband LOVES the butterbeans made with this recipe! I think so far, I have made them 6 times in the past year for him. I would have logged in to one of the accounts for "comment as", but after I got hacked in my email, I had to change all my passwords..and I can't find the notebook I wrote them all down in! I do follow you on Facebook however!

I don't know about you, but I remember a time where you didn't need to have all these blasted passwords!! Anyway, thank you so much - I'm glad y'all are enjoyed the butterbeans recipe. We sure do!! I think with all this rain I'll make a batch myself - got some beans in the pantry & a ham bone thawing in the fridge!

After soaking the beans, I add a carton of chicken broth and set aside 6 cups of water, but I only start with 4 cups of it, adding more in on down the line only if the beans are getting too thick. Be sure that you let the beans slow simmer, not boil, and just keep letting them cook until the watery juice because to thicken and look creamy. It usually takes about 1-1/2 hours or so. You just have to let them go but they'll get there!

2nd time cooking these in a week! These are the best and remind me of my Mom's that she made all the time when I was growing up. She used bacon or ham hocks and since I always have bacon that is what I use. 1st time I split the difference on the water,used 5 cups. They were a little soupy for my taste, although they do thicken up after refrigerating as you noted. This time I am starting with 3 1/2 cups of water and will add some if needed. Bet I will put about another cup in as they cook...want them a little soupy since I like to put them in a big bowl over some cornbread. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

Hi Mike! Yes, the thickness is a personal preference. We like ours with a bit more juice, some folks like them very thick. I love beans, and out of them all these are a definite favorite of mine. I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying them too & thank you so much for taking the time to stop back by and let me know. That means a lot to me!

No need to. Not during any of the process do you need to. I just cooked these for the fourth time since I found this recipe, used 4 cups of water, did the final simmer for about an 1 hour 15 minutes and they came out just like I like. I like them just a little soupy since I put them on top of cornbread. This recipe is the best...reminds me so much of what my Mom used to make...as good if not even better. It may just be that it was many years ago that my Mom cooked them, but this recipe is a real winner! If you are using a crock pot then you would just follow the directions supplied for that process. I love using a crock pot, but can't imagine they would come out any better by doing so.

I should have said that the only time you should cover the pot is after the quick cook process, after the beans have come to a boil and you turn the heat off and let them sit for an hour. That would be the only time you should cover.

I had a big ol ham bone and googled what to make with it. As providence would have it, I had a bag of large lima beans in the pantry. This was so delicious. I did use the ham bone broth and added some chicken broth granules and some chopped garlic...and then I made your Sweet Tea...divine. I don't know why I never though of adding the sugar to the water first. It really does make a difference your way. Have you ever heard of adding a tad of baking soda to the pitcher of tea for clarity and crispness? I have read other recipes and they say that is the way many restaurants prepare theirs.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

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Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or RSS feed, or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

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The classic southern plate for supper is made up of meat and three, cornbread or rolls & a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Oftentimes what makes a recipe southern, is as much a state of mind as it is a matter of geography - Southerners simply decide a particular food is southern, and that's that." ~Rick McDaniel, Food Historian

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